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Travel Update! - November 18th

Well. I left Seville. And went to Madrid (yet again). But you already know that from the last one. So let's talk about Madrid.The last time we talked about Madrid, I gave you a very rough impression of it. Sure it's gorgeous, but there's not a ton to do. That was about the gist, right? This time around, I changed my opinion. I actually have a bit of a soft spot for Madrid now.You see, the first time I went, I was comparing Madrid to the massive cities I had been to before.. Barcelona, Rome, London, Paris etc, where there is something to do every second of every day. But now I get it. Madrid is comparable to DC in the states. Not quite everyone's honeymoon destination, but something you have to see, something you have to experience at one point in your life. And I think I came to appreciate that.This time around, I didn't do any walking tours, didn't go sight hunting, didn't eat my weight in churros. Instead, I spent time walking through the back alleys, talking to the receptionists and bartenders that remembered me from my last stay, and trying, ever so slightly, to shift my perspective.I was, however, a tourist for about 2 hours on Thursday night. I went with Steve (Remember him! You thought we were done with him!) to the Prado Museum, home of some of the most incredible and mind blowing pieces of spanish art. If you don't know who Goya, Greco, Velazquez, Bosco, or Ribera are, go look them up. Some phenomenal pieces. If I'm honest, I didn't know who they were at the beginning, but I found out pretty quickly. Go look them up. Do it now. Goya's black paintings were incredible.Alright now back to the less touristy traveler life. When I got there, I met up again with Augusto, Luis, and Sebastian, the bar crawl tour guides that I found myself real familiar with the last time I was there. So familiar, in fact, that they asked me to lead the pub crawl because they knew that I knew exactly where the bars/clubs are that they were planning on bringing people to that night.Yep. That's right. I think I have officially gained the title as the most degenerate human being there is. To the point that the pub crawl guides start letting me lead packs of drunks. Yep. Love that...I didn't actually end up leading it. I ended up pawning off the duty and getting a kabob. Probably a much better decision.And with that kabob, I started off my short stay in Madrid on the right foot. I spent some time with Steve, met an awfully rambunctious Canadian guy, hung out with a couple of really dry guys from DC, went on a couple walks, got a few more Facebook contacts, and ate enough Wok to Walk to have me set for life. It was a great time.I'm going to stop here and apologize. I know the writing isn't all that enthusiastic today. I have too much on my mind to pour myself into this today. I just figured I'd give you a real quick update before I end up in another few cities entirely. Thanks for sticking this out.